Decatizing fabrics



Sept. 26, 1939. P. Rosa 2,174,215

DECATIZING FABRICS Filed Oct. 2l, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 26, 1939.

P. ROSE DECATIZING FABRICS Filed Oct. 2l, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 m MW Sept. 26, 1939. P. ROSE 2,174,215

DECATI Z ING FABRICS Filed Oct. 2l, 1956 L'SileetS-Sllet-lfi 3 ,F3104 ROSE Sept. 26, 1939. P. Rose: 2,174,215

DECATIZING FABRICS Filed Oct. 2l, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 PAUL DO se JMX Patented Sept. 26, '1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in the art of decating or decatizing fabrics and more particularly to a novel arrangement for decatizing textile fabrics tto obtain a desired huish thereupon.

It is the object of the present invention to accomplish the decatizing of fabrics more eilicient- 1y, quickly, and satisfactorily than has been possible heretofore in the art. The invention is applicable to all types oi textile fabrics such as cottons, Woolens, silks, rayons, and the like, or to fabrics formed by mixtures oi such fibers.

It is an object ofb the invention to decatize fabrics while the web of fabric ls passing from a take-od reel to a winding reel without the necessity of winding the web of fabric upon a perforated decatizing cylinder with the attendant tedious operation of winding the fabric with a backing adjacent thereto preparatory to the conventional decatizing steaming and drying treatments.

lt is a further object of the invention to iinish a textile material by decatizing in such a manner that every length oi the material is assured 25 exactly the same treatment as the next adjacent length in order to obtain a uniformly nnished product. This is not the case with the fabrics finished in the manner previously known in the art, in which case the material adjacent the decat@ tizng cylinder is subjected to adierent degree of treatment from the material more remote from the cylindrical core. This objection is not elimi` f hated entirely by a reverse winding of the fabric with its backing upon another cylinder for a repeated treating operziion, which incidentally is time-consuming and expensive.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a machine capable of decatizing all types of fabrics so that the nal set thereof may be 40 accurately controlled. By the critical adjustment of the tension under which the fabric is fed through the machine and the pressurev between the two pressing surfaces through which" the fabric passes in the course of its steaming, the desired set may be imparted to the fabric, and a crepy effect, smooth, dull, or glossy nish may Abe obtained.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a machine in which the hot steaming treatment may be accomplished without danger of burning the material on the one hand', or damaging it by Water spots occasioned by the condensation of steam on the other hand. y,

It is a further object of the invention to provide one or more drying and conditioning units with the decatizing unit in order to "complement the latter in obtaining the desired finish for the material.

Other objects and purposes will appear from the more detailed description of the invention 5 following hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan of the arrangement in accordance with the invention, showing in general the serial location of the parts shown in greater '10 detail in the following figures,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the first unit of the decatizing machine performing the steaming and pressing operations,

Figure 3 is a plan View of the machine shown 15 in "Figure 2, l

Figure 4 is a plan view of the drying unit adjacent the decatizing unit shown on. a smaller scale in Figure l,

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of Fig- 20 ure 4,

Figure 6 isa top plan View of the nal drying and conditioning unit shown on the right end of Figure l,

Figure 'I is the longitudinal sectional View of 25 Figure 6,

Figure 8 is a top plan view of the upper surface of the lower steaming chamber in Figure 2, and

Figure A9 is a bottom view of the upper suction chamber in Figure 2;

In the drawings, the assembly in accordance with the present invention is illustrated as being composed of three frame units l, ll, and 9i positioned in tandem. The web of,fabric F in the course of its processing passes from the winding-oir reel t at the left end of Figure 1 to the winding-up reel at the right of Figure 1.

The roll of fabric to be processed on reel 4 is mounted in suitable bearings upon the bracket 2 attached to the machine frame l (Figure 2). Slightly in advance of the roll 4 is disposed a pair of' posts 'l upon which are adjustably mounted a frame t revolubly supporting expander rolls 9 and l0 across the width of the machine. The web of fabric F is passed between these rolls as shown in Figure 2 for the purpose of removing wrinkles in the fabric.

The fabric F is then passed through a pair of tension rolls` l2 mounted inA suitable bearings which may be supported by the bracket 2. These rolls may be driven by a motor El) through the intermediary of a speed reducing device 6| and a variable speed controlling device 62 in order to obtain a fine degree of control for the speed of these rolls and thereby to regulate the tension 55 of the fabricY in the course of its travel through the processing stages. With a controlled tension at this point it is possible to decatize effectively crepes, woolens, knitted and similar fabrics without any stretch or shrinkage. Any speed reducing device or variable speed control arrangement may be availed of in the practical application ofthe present invention and these units areillustrated merely schematically for the purpose of explaining the present invention.

The web of fabric is then passed through the decatizing unit which consists principally of two endless porous bands or blankets of textile, metallic or composite material pressed towards each other with a predetermined force depending upon the material being treated and the final nish which is desired, and through which bands is passed the steaming medium to exercise the desired control upon the texture of the fabric in conjunction with the pressure imposed thereupon. Theu'pper blanket I3 is disposed upon the two blanket rolls I and I6 which may be made of steel and which mayhave a peripheral surface which is plain, knurled, or iluted. Either one or both of these rolls may be power driven, and as shown in Figure 1, the roll I5 is driven by motor 63 through the intermediary of a gear reducer 64 and' the roll I5 is driven from the shaft |53 carrying the roll I5 by means of the sprocket chain 35. may be of the same or different material from that composing blanket I3 is disposed on the blanket rolls I1 and I8 and is actuated thereby. As shown in Figure 2, the drive for the latter rolls is derived from the shaft I5s by gear I5y which is mounted thereon meshing with the gear Ila mounted on the shaft carrying roll I1. A

sprocket chain 55' may extend between sprockets mounted on the driving shafts for the rolls I1 and I3 to actuate both of these rolls.

A plurality of guide rolls 2| are mounted rotatively in the sides of the machine for the purpose of guiding the upper blanket in its course of travel, and in order to regulate the tension of this blanket and for the purpose of taking up slack and variations in length occasioned by temperature changes and the like, the following regulating arrangement is provided at the top of the machine for the upper blanket. Upon a bearing bracket 23 fixed upon the machine frame is disposed guide rolls 24 and 25 which, in conjunction with a guide roll 23 mounted on a movable support 21, guide the blanket in a reverse loop. 'I'he position of the slidable support 21 is controlled by a threaded shaft 23 cooperating with a threaded bore in the support 21, the rectilinear movement of which is enforced by the guide shaft 21a. Rotation is imparted to shaft 23 by means of a regulating hand wheel H and bevel gears 23 and Il to control the length of the reverse loop which is formed by the blanket and consequently the tension under which the endless blanket operates.

A similar adjusting arrangement for the lower blanket is provided at the lower portion of the machine in which the parts 23', 24', 25', 2B', 21',

Likewise the lower blanket 2li which uum by the connection thereto of a suitable evacuating apparatus such as a steam ejector, vacuum pump, or the like.

A steam chamber 42 is disposed below the lower blanket 20 and is composed of two superposed compartments. Steam is admitted to the lower chamber 42 and serves as an insulating jacket for the upper chamber 43 which comes in contact with the porous blanket 20. Hot steam is circulated through the lower chamber by an admission conduit 44 and an exhaust conduit which is not shown. The top surface 43s of the chamber 43 is perforated with apertures 5I '(Figure 8) in order to present the live steam introduced into the chamber 43 to the porous blanket 20 which is sucked therethrough and the intervening fabric as well as upper blanket I9 by the low pressure prevailing in chamber 32. The backing of the chamber 43 with a hot steam chamber 42 assures the steaming of the fabric by the penetration of the steam therethrough without the formation of any water spots thereon and the consequent damage to the fabric. By suitably controlling the temperature of the steam introduced into the chamber 43 and that introduced into the chamber 42 a fine control of the heat treatment adaptable to any particular goods is obtained.

An important feature of the present invention consists in the adjustability of the force exerted by pressing surfaces between which the fabric is treated. Such a feature is completely lacking in the practices of the prior art in the decatizing of fabrics. One form of realization of this function is illustrated in Figure 2 wherein the chamber 42 is provided at one end with journal pins 45 which are connected with a system of levers 46, 41, and 48 which upon rocking cause a lifting of the chamber and are likewise controlled by a system of rocking levers 46', 41', and 48'. A lever 43 connects the two lever systems described above and causes them to act in unison and under control of a lever 5U which may be weighted as at 5I to govern the force with which the chamber 42 is pressed against the undersurface of the blanket 2l. A shifting of the weight 5I or a variation thereof causes a corresponding difference in pressure between the bands I9 and 20. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the top surface 43s is shown as roof-shaped so that the pressure exerted upon the fabric as it passes between the bands is characterized by a gradually increasing gradient and then a gradually decreasing gradient.

Following the decatlzing as described above, the fabric F is dried and conditioned to permit the fabric to assume the set which is desired. This operation may be performed with a single dryer or more than one. Thus as shown in Figure 1, two dryers may be connected in series to execute the drying operation. I'n the first of these dryers, mounted in frame 1I, the fabric is allowed to dry'naturally with or without the aid of supplemental air currents to cause the fabric to assume a natural set. In the dryer mounted in frame SI, the fabric is subjected to a forced air drying and conditioning, which may be modified by controlling the temperature and the humidity of the circulating air. These dryers may be used to the exclusion of each other or other forms of dryers may be substituted in lieu of the types disclosed in dependence upon the specic results sought to be obtained.

In Figures 4 and 5 are shown enlarged views of a rack dryer which is in the form of an endless conveyor formed by two side chains Il and between which are revolubly mounted rolls 14 which support the fabric in naturally dropping festoons as it is fed thereto. The drag roll 15 guides the material on to'the rolls I4 as they progressively come into position to receive the shaft 18' through the intermediary ofa transmission chain 80. The main conveyor sprockets l2 are provided with peripheral notches 13 to accommodate the rolls 'i4 in the course of travel thereover.

'I'he web of fabric passes from the dryer 'il to the guide roll 94 mounted upon the flnal dryer 9|. In this unit the fabric is passed over a perforated endless blanket which may beof plush or other fine material and which is actuated about rolls tl and 88 and guide rolls 96. Below the perforated band is provided a suction chamber 93 in which sub-atmospheric pressure is maintained by blower 92h actuated by the electric motor 92.

The final drier unit is driven by motor tb through the intermediary of adjustable speed reducing mechanism 86 which critically controls the speed of shaft 81. A. chain $33 extends between the rolls 81 and 88 and from the latter extends the transmitting mechanism for controlling the actuation of the moving elements in the intermediate dryer lli. The transmission chain 8i extends between sprockets on shaft 8l' and 95 and actuates the drag roll 95 mounted rotatively upon the bracket |00 attached to the end of the machine. Adjacent this drag roll are mounted inclined bearings |02 for the takeoff shell or winding reel ||J| for receiving thereupon the processed goods. The drag roll db drives the shell by frictional contact therewith and as the latter increases in diameter with the accumulation of theA fabric thereupon, the shell merely works upwardly in the inclined bearings |02 until the processing of the length of fabric is completed.

A variation of the speed of the drag roll 9b controls the output of the machine and at any one setting thereofl the yield of processed fabric is constant.' I

The transmission mechanism described above may be altered in several respects Without departing from the spirit of the invention.y Such changes will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and since the embodiment disclosed herein has been presented for purposes of illustration only, the scope of the invention is to be construed by the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for continuously decatizing fabrics, two longitudinally movable superposed pervious pressing surfaces adapted to receive the fabric therebetween, a vacuum chamber adjacent one of said surfaces and a steam chamber adjacent the other one of said surfaces, said chambers being provided with openings adjacent to said pressing surfaces, means for adjusting the contact pressure between said two surfaces, and means for advancing conjointly the two pressing surfaces with the fabric therebetween to effect by the application of steam and pressure to the fabric a change in the finish thereof.

2. In an apparatus for continuously decatizing fabrics, two endless porous pressing bands adapted to receive the fabric therebetween, a suction f chamber adjacent one of said bands and a steam chambernadjacent the other one of said bands.

said chambers having perforated surfaces in contact with said bands, means for adjusting the contact pressure between said two bands, and means for actuating the bands conjointly with the fabric therebetween to effect a decatizing treatment thereof by the application of steam and pressure.

3. An. apparatus for continuously decatizing fabrics, two superposed porous pressing surfaces adapted to receive the fabric therebetween, a suction chamber adjacent one of said surfaces and a steam chamber adjacent the other one of said surfaces, said chambers having perforations therein in contact with said pressing surfaces, a plurality of compartments in said steam chamber including a heated compartment spaced from the perforations in the steam chamber for providing a heat-insulating backing for the steam passing through the perforations, and means for advancing conjointly the' two pressing surfaces with the fabric therebetween while applying steam and pressure thereto.

4. An apparatus for continuously decatizing fabrics, two superposed porous pressing surfaces adapted to receive the fabric therebetween, a suction chamber adjacent one of said surfaces and a steam chamber adjacent the other one oi said surfaces, said chambers having perforations therein in contact with said pressing surfaces, means for varying the pressing force imposed upon the fabric by the two pressing surfaces, means for pre-tensioning the fabric prior to its introduction between the pressing surfaces, and means for actuating the two pressing surfaces with the fabrictherebetween with the simultaneous application of steam and pressure thereto to effect a decatizing thereof.

5. In an apparatus for continuously decatizing fabrics, two endlessporous pressing bands adapted to receive the fabric therebetween, a suction chamber adjacent one of said bands and a steam chamber adjacent the other one of said bands, said chambers having perforated surfaces in contact with said bands, means for adjusting the contact pressure between said two bands, means for pre-tensioning the fabric prior to its introduction between the pressing bands, and means for advancing the two pressing bands with the fabric therebetween while applying steam and pressure thereto.

6. An apparatus for continuously decatizing fabrics, two superposed porous'pressing surfaces adapted to receive the fabric therebetween, a suction chamber adjacent one of said surfaces and a steam chamber adjacent the other one of said surfaces, said chambers having perforations therein in contact with said pressing surfaces, means for pre-tensioning the` fabric prior to its introduction between the pressing surfaces, and means for actuating the two pressing surfaces with the fabric therebetween with the simultaneous application of-stearn and pressure thereto to eiect a decatizing thereof. y 7. In an apparatus for continuously decatizin fabrics, two endless porous pressing bands adapted to receive the fabric therebetween, a suction chamber adjacent one of said bands and a steam chamber adjacent the other one of said bands, said chambers having perforated surfaces in contact with said bands, means for adjusting the contact pressure between said two bands, means for pre-tensioning the fabric prior to its introduction between the pressing bands, means for advancing the two pressing bands with the fabric therebetween while applying steam and pressure thereto and means for drying the fabric comprising an endless chain conveyor having transversely disposed supporting rollers, and means for feeding the fabric on to said rollers in the form of festoons to permit a drying of the fabric to impart a natural set thereto.

8. In an apparatus for continuously decatizing fabrics, two endless porous pressing bands adapted to receive the fabric therebetween, a suction chamber adjacent one of said bands and a steam chamber adjacent the other one of said bands, said chambers having perforated surfaces in contact with said bands, means for adjusting the contact pressure between said two bands, means for pre-tensioning the fabric prior to its introduction between the pressing bands, means for advancing the two pressing bands with the fabric therebetween while applying steam and pressure thereto, and means for drying the fabric comprising an endless porous blanket for supporting the fabric and a perforated suction chamber underlying the blanket to eiect a forced drying of the fabric.

PAUL ROSE. 

